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Option 4: The real steering controls and system (for which you have to wait and which will feel like a spaceship) will be full autonomy and, at which time, the provided steering wheel will become vestigial. So, it doesn't matter how the steering wheel looks or what doodads may or may not be provided on it because it only needs to provide basic functions for now. Also note that Elon's response did not mention a steering wheel as being part of the "real steering controls and system".

AP makes no sense, as everyone expected that anyway, you don't "see" that, and doesn't fit in the context of the question.

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However, AP2/FSD hardware for all cars going forward was not announced until October 2016. This event was also referred to as Model 3 "Reveal 2" by Elon. The "real steering controls" tweet came months earlier (3 days after Reveal 1), so full autonomy hardware for the Model 3 wasn't known to be a given at that time. On the same day as the "real steering controls" tweet, Elon also tweeted (in response to a question about the bare dashboard) that all will become clear after Reveal 2. And, as we know, Reveal 2 was about AP2/FSD.

As for the use of the verb "see", he may not literally be referring to the visual sense. It could just be a casual way of saying, "wait until you learn about the real..." Just like someone saying, "I heard about that" when they actually read about it instead.

** So I intended to have an option 4 that was roughly equal to " Too Costly / Too Complex / Not Feasible for Scale / Not Ready / Something along these lines". ** However, when you hit the "enter" button to insert a line break <br/> while making poll questions, some web developer has decided this means you want to post the comment as it is without even so much as a confirmation.

I work for a large enterprise that is full of product managers and layer upon layer of product and design teams (+200k employees). My personal take is that Elon Musk originally intended for the Model 3 to have some type of advanced HUD or "next generation" display that was indeed "spaceship like" and would knock our socks off. This was very clear in his opening round of tweets. He had clearly seen an interior experience ( UI/ UX / CX) along with an interior design aesthetic that had to have been better than today's best "S-class" Mercedes interiors (which are pretty amazing at night)...

However, after his tweets and comments, it appears to me that the product managers and various product owners pulled him back in and told him the Model S/X must always be their luxury product and got him to buy into the typical auto product line / mentality. What I believe is that the original "spaceship" model 3 interior / HUD will be put on the Model S / X - my guess.

But this isn't about me. Its about what others think. I would say it's a given that Musk has seen a mind blowing, spaceship like steering and control experience. What happened to it is the question at hand.

If you continue to read the Twitter you will see that Elon says that it will make sense after reveal part 2. And latter, when Autonomous driving was announced Elon twitted that it was what he was referencing as part 2. So, as others have said many many times, the steering system Elon was referencing with that system is indeed the autonomous autopilot system.

Option 4: The controls we see now are the ones that were always planned and his reference was in relation to AP2 and FSD. And anyone still holding out for some big surprise reveal is smoking something out behind the barn.

I doubt the model 3 will ever "self drive" as in punch in a location and let it go. By the time regulations approve it new hardware will be available and regulators or Tesla will want to have that in the first full self driving car. In other words you'll need ap3.

Why are we assuming "spaceship steering controls" involved the steering wheel itself? I have always believed he was referring to the electromechanical steering mechanism especially after AP 2 was released. It's ability to steer, track, avoid obstacles, summon etc. The only steering 'wheels' that are not round are in race cars that only require 180 degrees of rotation lock to lock unlike road cars requiring 21/2 to 31/2 turns lock to lock.

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